AURORA, Ill., Jan. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AAA Chicago today announced the seven restaurants and four lodgings named as AAA Five Diamond Award designees for 2014 in Illinois and northern Indiana. All eleven designees are located in Chicago, Ill. With the addition of three new Five Diamond rated restaurants, Chicago now ties New York City with the most Five Diamond-rated restaurants in North America.

"Four and Five Diamond hotels and restaurants provide guests with a personalized experience and attentive service in comfortable, high quality surroundings," said Brad Roeber, AAA Chicago Regional President. "These establishments consistently exceed the expectations of the most discriminating traveler – the AAA inspector. We are proud to have these dedicated businesses in our region.

The 2014 Five Diamond rated restaurants for Illinois and northern Indiana are as follows: Acadia (new to the list), Alinea (8 years), Arun's (12 years), Everest (18 years), Grace Restaurant (new to the list), Sixteen (new to the list) and Tru (14 years).

The 2014 Five Diamond rated hotels for Illinois and northern Indiana are as follows: The Four Seasons Hotel Chicago (24 years), The Peninsula Chicago (12 years), Trump International Hotel & Tower (4 years) and Waldorf Astoria Chicago (4 years). All AAA Five Diamond rated hotels and restaurants are located in Chicago, Ill. The full listings for the 2014 AAA/CAA Five Diamond restaurants and hotels can be found here.

Additionally, Illinois and northern Indiana boast 62 AAA Four Diamond establishments. Fifteen Four Diamond restaurants and 43 Four Diamond hotels are in Illinois. Masaki and Pelago Ristorante are the two new restaurants on the Four Diamond list for Illinois and Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette is the lone new Four Diamond hotel for Illinois. This hotel also is only the second establishment outside of the Chicago metro region to ever make the Four Diamond list.

There are three Four Diamond restaurants in northern Indiana and one Four Diamond hotel, the Morris Inn in South Bend, IN, which is new to the list this year. The full listing for the 2014 AAA/CAA Four Diamond restaurants and hotels can be found here.

Nationally, 183 establishments were named as AAA/CAA Five Diamond Award® designees for 2014. Just 124 hotels and 59 restaurants are eligible for the travel authority's highest and most exclusive rating. These select establishments represent 0.3 percent of the total 59,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated lodgings and restaurants across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

To become AAA Diamond rated, hotels and restaurants undergo a thorough inspection by one of AAA's 65 full-time, highly trained professional evaluators. Five Diamond establishments complete a more extensive review that includes a series of inspections and final committee review. AAA rates more properties than any other rating entity and is one of only two that conduct physical, on-site evaluations.

AAA first started listing accommodation information in its travel publications in the early 1900s. In 1937, the first field inspectors were hired to inspect hotels, motels and restaurants. In 1963, AAA began to rate all accommodations as good, very good, excellent or outstanding. The Diamond rating process, introduced in 1977 for hotels and 1989 for restaurants, continues to be recognized as one of the most trusted rating process for North American travelers.